HPV vaccine recommended for boys

HPV vaccine recommended for boys

CHICAGO — U.S. vaccine advisers on Tuesday voted to recommend that boys should be routinely vaccinated with Merck & Co’s Gardasil vaccine to protect them from human papillomavirus or HPV infections, which cause genital warts and oral, penile and anal cancers in boys and men, and cervical cancers in women.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voted unanimously to recommend routine use of Gardasil in 11 to 12-year-old boys, with 13 yes votes and one member abstaining.

Previously, the CDC has said doctors are free to use the vaccine in boys, but it has stopped short of recommending routine vaccination.

Currently, the CDC recommends HPV vaccinations made by Merck and GlaxoSmithKline for girls and women between the ages of 11 and 26.